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This blog is intended to offer information and reviews about various products and eateries available to Toronto and the surrounding GTA residents. All opinions, comments and reviews are my own. I do not endorse any products or food places. Comments and inquiries can be sent here.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

This isn't going to be much of a review. More of a rant. More of an annoyance. More of an irritation of sorts.. yah. That's what it is.. (although I have a review of this fabulous vegetarian Indian restaurant..but that'll be for another time as I am mega swamped with school stuff right now. sorry!)

Ok. So, what's my beef today? Well.. lemme tell you.

Banquet Halls.

Yep. There. I said it.

ok.. let me just be blunt. How in the hell is it that a company that specializes in providing SPACE and FOOD for people's celebrations have not yet incorporated vegetarian meals into their menus??? Am I asking for too much? Honestly! I'm stunned... at a loss for words.

Let me be specific. I recently went to a dear friend's wedding and I just want to state that this is no fault of her own. She is a total sweetheart and amazing.. and had even notified them of my vegetarian meal request and gave them my name and details..etc. So.. this is how it went. I got my antipasto plate (for those non-Italians or non traditional wedding goers.. that's the plate with the prosciutto, melon, grilled veggies maybe, bocconcini cheese etc..). My plate was a regular one with the prosciutto on it. No biggie. I just let the lady know my name and that I had requested a vegetarian meal. She quickly apologizes and takes it away.

She returns with the same plate. However, they have removed that prosciutto from it....err.. as well as the bocconcini cheese (?!? huh?!!?!) oH.. and there are little bits and pieces of the cured ham on my plate still.

*pause*

Yah.. exactly. Haa.. you know, I'm not difficult and had it been at a family or friend's house, i would've simply picked off the stuff not caring.. but what the heck? Like I said.. this is a place of business that specializes in providing full meal courses to their guests. And lemme tell you.. they're getting paid a pretty penny to do it.

I asked her to take the plate away as i wasn't interested in 2 slices of tomatoes and a tiny piece of melon that had bits of ham on it. :/ *gag*

That wasn't even the end of it. I had a server come up to me asking me if I can eat pasta with cheese in. I'm beginning to believe that the staff have NEVER even heard of the term vegetarian before.

For the main course.. when they brought everyone their plates with chicken parmigiana and grilled veggies and roasted potatoes.. i waited patiently as my own dish arrived. By this time.. I was quite starving, I might add. Voila! my plate arrives! err.. not so fast. I had the veggies and potatoes like the rest of them.. but to substitute the meat portion everyone else had.. they provided me with a very amazing tiny scoop of plain (microwave) rice.

*pause*

yah... I don't even know what to tell you. After that.. it was the plate of seafood (a total waste since me and my date didn't touch any of it and the other two people at our table weren't very interested in it) and a bowl of rotten salad. I'm not kidding. It was brown and limp. So, i couldn't even eat that. Good times.

Here's what I don't understand. It is 2009.. we're pretty much up to date with stuff around the scene.. what people like and want. How can someone catering to people's needs in terms of menu items.. NOT provide a simple meal for someone who doesn't eat meat? I don't get it. I've only been a vegetarian for a short while.. so, what have they done all the previous years..? I'm so baffled. and i'm POSITIVE that there are places that provide items for such people.. as well as halal, kosher, vegan, etc. The reason I know this is because I dealt with the registration for our conferences and had numerous people order meals that were meat free.

The sad thing is that this isn't the only place. I've been to other places that are the same. They do not substitute items and do not provide a replacement that is adequate. Perhaps some eggplant parmigiana.. vegetable stir fry with tofu.. who knows! the possibilities are endless.

But seriously.. FOOD PLACES.. get yer act together! I would've expected a lot more from Toronto large scale food catering companies. Tsk tsk. two thumbs DOWN. waaay way down.

Thank goodness for the open bar. I could drown my sorrows and starvation in rum and coke. hahaha i keed.. ;)